4th defendant gets 32 years in teen's beating death

20-year-old apologizes, calls for moment of silence for Derrion Albert before sentencing

July 20, 2011|By Jason Meisner, Tribune reporter

Anjanette Albert, mother of Derrion Albert, and his grandfather Norman Golliday leave the court building Tueday after Eugene Riley was sentenced to 32 years in prison for murder in Derrion Albert's death. The Fenger High School student's fatal beating in 2009 was captured on a video that went viral nationwide. (Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune)

Unfolding a piece of yellow notebook paper, Eugene Riley rose at the defense table Tuesday and apologized to Derrion Albert's family for his role in the infamous video-recorded beating death of the Fenger High School sophomore.

Then Riley made a most unusual request, given his conviction for Albert's murder.

"Can we please take this time to have a moment of silence for Derrion Albert?" Riley asked in a low, raspy voice before bowing his head. With the courtroom quiet for about 15 seconds, Albert's family kept their heads up, gazing at him.

After court, Albert's mother, Anjanette, said she "didn't hear anything" that Riley said. "It goes in one ear, out the other."

Moments after the awkward moment of silence, Judge Nicholas Ford sentenced Riley to 32 years in prison, calling the actions of Riley and the four others convicted in the melee "profoundly disturbing."

A Cook County jury convicted Riley, 20, in May of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said the video showed Riley, then 18, strike Albert twice with a large board while he was prone and semiconscious.

Riley testified at his trial that he was scared and swung the board in self-defense and to protect his brother after he had been attacked by the mob.

The grainy video of the September 2009 street fight went viral and sparked a national debate on youth violence, a trip here by Obama administration officials and a federal grant to try to improve school security.

"The president of the United States thought about him, people around the world thought and grieved for him," Anjanette Albert said in court. "This city is changing because of what you all did to him."

Riley's sentence was on par with others handed down in the case. Silvonus Shannon, 21, was convicted at trial and received 32 years in prison, while Eric Carson, 18, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

In December, a 15-year-old boy was found guilty of the murder in Juvenile Court and will remain imprisoned until his 21st birthday.

The final defendant, Lapoleon Colbert, 20, was convicted of murder in June and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.